Record labels
- 2. What is a Record Label? A record label is the publishing company associated with the marketing of an artists or multiple artists music videos. They're in charge of the trademarks, manufacturing, distribution, promotion and enforcement of copyright for sound recordings and videos. The record label requires funds for the video in order for it to be successful. They also have a contract with its recording artists to ensure the label receives a percentage of the profit raised from the sale of any music released. Being signed to a major record label such as Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group broadens a customer base as it allows them to market their albums/singles and promote their music across a variety of platforms. Examples of independent record companies are Domino Recording Company, Dirty Hit Records, Hopeless Records and Sub Pop Records. Creating music videos is an easy way to sell music and promote the artist which is why funds are used to pay for good equipment, costumes, locations and more. This allows the video to be memorable and unique, often drawing in the viewers.
- 3. Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment is an American music cooperation managed and operated by Sony Corporation of America. The company was founded in 1929 and is the owner of some of the worlds greatest artists such as Foo Fighters, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, One Direction, Michael Jackson, AC/DC, The Clash, Miley Cyrus, Dolly Parton and many more. Sony is a conglomerate music company meaning they have a large budget to spend on the production, distribution and marketing of their music videos. For example, Justine Timberlake's 'Can't stop the feeling' (2016) has a large budget which is displayed in the wide variety of locations and choreography. This video was promotional for the DreamWorks animation "Trolls". This intertextuality would increase the awareness of both the music video and the film, benefiting both parties financially. Justin Timberlake is the only person lip syncing along to the song showing he is the artist and the protagonist of this video.
- 4. Warner Music Groups Warner Music Groups is a global, American record label. This institution has signed artists such as Jason Derulo, Coldplay, Metallica, Kylie Minogue, Ed Sheeran, Frank Sinatra, James Blunt plus more. It's a conglomerate company which owns and runs many other successful record labels such as Warner Classic, Atlantic Records Groups, Rhino Entertainment, Parlophone Label Group and Warner Music Nashville. Having ownership of different labels with different genres allows a wide audience to be targeted resulting in lots of popularity for Warner Music Group. Due to being a conglomerate company, there is a large budget to spend on the production, distribution and marketing of any video made.
- 5. Domino Recording Company Domino Recording Company is an independent record label based in London and is one of the longest running and successful independent record labels in the UK. It was founded in 1993 by Lawrence Bell. It's signed and worked with artists such as Arctic Monkeys, The Last Shadow Puppets, Blood Orange, Hot Chip, Franz Ferdinand, Wild Beasts, Animal Collective, The Kills and The Range. This record label signs artists belonging to the rock and indie rock genres in order to create a niche audience and has it's first number one album with Franz Ferdinand's 'You Could Have It So Much Better' in October 2005. Being an independent institution means there isn't access to a large budget and as their target audience is so specific it means their music videos aren't likely to earn the company much money. However, this label has been running for over 25 years which has allowed them to acquire a larger budget to spend on the videos for their artists.
- 6. Hopeless Records Hopeless Records is an American independent record label located in California. In 1993 it was founded by Louis Posen and works with the genres alternative rock, punk rock and heavy metal. Some of their most well known artists include Enter Shikari, Sum 41, Neck Deep, Yellowcard, Avenged Sevenfold, We Are The In Crowd, Hands Like Houses and The Wonder Years. An example of a recent video published is 'Drift' by Hands Like Houses released on the 14th June 2017. The limited budget of independent record labels means not as much money can be used when creating music videos and raising the awareness of them through marketing isn't as easy as it is for big conglomerate institutions who have access to a large budget.
- 7. Conclusion To conclude, this research into conglomerate and independent record labels has allowed me to see some clear differences in the way they produce their music videos. The main difference is the budget being smaller for independent companies and the selection of genres being more specific and similar for these smaller labels. I've decided that I'd like my song to fit in with the Indie/Rock/Alternative genre so having an independent record label would be the most appropriate. When creating a name for my own label I'll think of a few ideas and get some audience feedback to determine what my target audience would like the best. I'll use Hopeless Records and Domino Recording Company as inspiration for my ideas as they are both independent and very successful in creating music videos the audience enjoys.